1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to mounting equipment for vehicles, such as pickup trucks and the like, and more particularly to an adjustable and releasable clamp-on track assembly for attaching an overhead rack and/or other accessories to a pickup truck
2. Background of Related Art
Various types of connections are known to attach overhead racks and the like to the walls of a vehicle, such as a pickup truck. For example, overhead racks which are permanently attached to a pickup truck by welding, or the like, are known in the art. Since it is desirable in certain situations for the operator of a truck to be able to adjust, or remove the overhead racks, releasable and/or adjustable overhead racks have also been developed.
One such releasable and adjustable overhead rack is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,415 to Boudah. The Boudah patent discloses two pairs of stanchions slidably mounted on a pair of tracks which are permanently mounted on the side walls of the pickup truck. Each stanchion includes a base which is attached to the track by a nut and bolt fastening arrangement. The track has a cross-shaped slot formed therein which runs the length of the track, the slot receiving the nut for slidably mounting the stanchion to the rail track. At their upper ends, the stanchions support four cross members via four corner elements.
A sliding connection for releasably and adjustably attaching an overhead rack to a pickup truck is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,327 which is assigned to TracRac, Inc. This patent discloses a track having an elongated tubular body mountable to the side walls of a pickup truck. The mounting means by which the elongated body is mounted to the side walls of the pickup truck include a shim, a bolt, an elastomeric spacer and a bottom plate. A bottom surface of the tubular body bears against the shim which is disposed between the tubular body and an upper edge of the side wall of the pickup truck. The bolt extends through the elongate tubular body and into a stake pocket formed in the side wall of the pickup truck. The elastomeric spacer is disposed over the bolt and between the shim and a lower plate member, and is received within, and substantially fills the cavity of the stake pocket. The bolt is threadingly attached to the bottom plate member such that upon tightening the bolt the bottom plate member moves upwardly towards the shim, which compresses the elastomeric spacer so that the spacer expands laterally outward and engages and grips the stake pocket, thereby mounting the track to the side wall of the pickup truck.
While prior art connections such as the track disclosed in the ""327 patent have proven to be effective for releasably and adjustably attaching an overhead rack and the like to a pickup truck, there is continued development to produce connections which themselves are releasable and adjustable in a quick and convenient manner by the truck""s operator, while also providing maximum utility for mounting overhead racks and other accessories.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a releasable and adjustable clamp-on track assembly for supporting an overhead rack, or the like, on the walls of a vehicle, such as a pickup truck. The clamp-on track assembly includes a track having an elongated body mountable on the side wall of a pickup truck by at least one adjustable clamp member. The clamp member is designed to be quickly and conveniently disconnected from the side walls of the truck in order to adjust and/or remove the track assembly from the truck.
In one embodiment, the clamp member includes a first portion supported by the elongate body and a second portion engageable with the underside of the truck""s side wall. The first portion may preferable include an extension which is received within a slot, or recess, formed along the length of the elongated tubular body, so that the clamp member can be positioned anywhere along the length of the track, as desired. The second portion is preferably pivotable with respect to the first portion so that the clamping member can be located clear of any style bed liner, without sacrificing clamping force. An adjustable fastener may be provided which, when tightened, secures the second portion with the underside of the truck""s side wall in order to mount the track assembly and, when loosened, releases the second portion from the underside of the truck""s side wall so that the track assembly may be removed from the truck.
The adjustable clamp member allows the track assembly to be attached to the side walls of a pickup truck in a non-permanent manner so that an operator can easily remove and/or adjust the track assembly by releasing and/or adjusting the clamping member.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a track assembly which is adjustably attachable to a pickup truck so that an operator can easily adjust and/or remove the track assembly.